Erath County to accept surplus military Freightliner as mobile command vehicle; travel to Pennsylvania approved

Erath County Commissioners Court voted July 28 to accept a surplus Freightliner truck offered through a federal lease-sale program and authorized county employees or sheriff's staff to travel to Franklin County, Pennsylvania, to pick it up if the county’s bid is successful.

Sheriff Coates told the court the vehicle was located at Letterkenny Army Depot and described it as operational. "It does run," he said in presenting the request. County staff said the vehicle was found through a federal lease-sale (LISO) program; the court emphasized the acquisition was contingent on the county being approved as the winning bidder. Sheriff Coates and staff said the truck would be repurposed as a mobile command center and could replace the county's older emergency response vehicle.

Commissioner Stevens moved to accept the Freightliner from the LISO program; Commissioner Buck seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote with no opposition. Commissioners also approved a motion allowing county personnel or sheriff’s staff to travel out of state to retrieve the vehicle if the county is awarded the unit; that motion passed on a voice vote as well.

County officials discussed the relative cost of buying a new mobile command unit versus repurposing the surplus vehicle, with staff noting new or fully outfitted units can cost substantially more than acquiring a surplus vehicle. The court heard that the depot had driven the vehicle roughly 150 miles to its current location and that county staff would notify the court as soon as they learned whether the bid was successful; officials said they expected to know by Sunday following the auction.

Next steps: if the county's bid is successful, county staff will arrange travel to Letterkenny Army Depot to take physical possession and return the vehicle to Erath County for conversion and deployment as a mobile command unit.